This system originated in 1851 with Francis S. Dutton, of South Australia, and Henry George, in a pamphlet, “English Elections,” published in 1882, was the first to advocate it in the United States. The first bill enacting it into a law here was introduced in the Michigan legislature in 1887, but it did not pass until 1889. Why Do We Call a Cab a Hansom? The term is applied usually to a public vehicle, known in England as a “two-wheeler,” or “Hansom” (from the name of the inventor), and drawn by one horse. In a hansom cab, the passenger or hirer of the vehicle sits immediately in rear of the dashboard, the driver sitting on an elevated perch behind, the reins being passed over the top. The term cab is sometimes also applied to a four-seated, closed or open carriage, drawn by one or two horses, the driver sitting in front. The term is also applied to the covered part of a locomotive, in which the engineer and fireman have their stations. The word cab is derived from the cabriolet, a light one-horse carriage, with two seats and a calash top. In London, England, the cab or hansom was called the “gondola” of the British metropolis by Disraeli. Where Did the Name Calico Come From? A fabric of cotton cloth, the name being derived from the city of Calicut, in Madras, where it was first manufactured, and in 1631 brought to England by the East India Company. Calico-printing, an ancient Indian and Chinese art, has become a great industry in this country and in Britain, as well as in Holland. Who Made the First Postage Stamp? The stick on postage stamps so generally used today was invented by an Englishman James Chalmers in 1834. The English Government passed a bill calling for uniform postage of One Penny in 1840 and furnished envelopes bearing stamps printed on them. The people did not like them, however, and the adhesive stamp invented by Chalmers was substituted. The first stamps used in America were introduced in 1847. People have, it seems, always preferred to lick their postage stamps. How Many Languages Are There? It is said that there are more than 3,400 languages, including dialects, in the world. Most of them belong, of course, to savage or uncivilized people. There are said to be more than 900 languages used in Asia, almost 600 in Europe, 275 in Africa and more than 1,600 languages and dialects which are American. What Is the Deepest Mine In the World? The mine that goes farther down than any other in the world is the rock salt mine near Berlin, Germany which is 4,175 feet. It is not, however, straight down but somewhat slanting. The Calumet Copper Mine near Lake Superior is at a depth in some places of 3,900 feet. The deepest boring in the world is an artesian well at Potsdam, Missouri, which is 5,500 feet deep or more than one mile straight down. What Is Color? ~WHAT PRODUCES THE COLORS WE SEE?~